Strawberry Fields REIT LLC (STRW) Company Overview

Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. is a self-administered healthcare real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE American under STRW. It owns mainly skilled-nursing properties and leases them to healthcare operators instead of running care businesses. The company’s official company site describes a post-acute property strategy concentrated in the central and southern United States.

How is the portfolio organized?

The 2025 Form 10-K reports 133 properties: 132 owned in fee and one held under a long-term lease. Those properties contain 131 skilled nursing facilities, 10 assisted living facilities and two long-term acute care hospitals. Some campuses contain multiple licensed uses, so facility count exceeds property count.

STRW is a landlord, not a nursing-home operator. Contractual rent still depends on operators generating enough regulated-care cash flow to pay leases.

STRW acquires healthcare real estate, places facilities into individual or master leases, and collects monthly rent. Triple-net terms shift most property expenses to tenants, supporting strong landlord-level conversion. Rent commonly escalates 2.5% to 3.0% annually; master leases group facilities and discourage selective abandonment.

Which revenue stream matters most?

What makes an acquisition accretive?

Accretion depends on lease yield exceeding funding cost. During 2025, STRW bought 20 facilities for $112.1 million and expected about $12.1 million of initial annual cash revenue, implying an initial unlevered cash yield of roughly 10.8%. Since 2020, the company reported 72 facility acquisitions costing about $439.8 million at a 13.9% weighted average lease yield. They create AFFO growth only when tenant coverage holds and funding does not consume the spread.

Skilled nursing is overwhelmingly the core asset class. This focus supports specialized underwriting and repeat deals, but concentrates reimbursement risk. Other care types provide only modest diversification.

Where is the rent concentrated?

Indiana was the largest state at 25.2% of annualized average base rent, followed by Kentucky at 18.3%, Illinois at 15.7%, Tennessee at 12.5% and Missouri at 12.2%. Those five states represented 83.9% of year-end rent. The company’s Q1 2026 investor presentation provides the current portfolio and financing context.

How durable is the lease schedule?

At December 31, 2025, 83.5% of annualized base rent expired after 2030, while only 0.7% expired in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027. Contracted future minimum rent totaled about $1.06 billion. Long duration limits rollover risk, but value still depends on operator solvency and lease enforcement.

Q1 2026 delivered rent and earnings growth, while operating cash flow lagged AFFO. The Q1 2026 Form 10-Q reported $40.0 million of rental revenue, and the accompanying operating-results release showed 100% contractual rent collection.

What changed year over year?

Which growth rates deserve attention?

Earnings improved, yet operating cash flow fell 7.8% to $17.5 million. Persistent divergence would matter because debt service, distributions and acquisitions require cash.

Portfolio consolidation, public listing and diversified financing created today’s layered operating-partnership structure.

1. 2014–15
   Gubin led the predecessor and BVI vehicle, establishing operator and financing relationships.
2. 2019
   The corporation and operating partnership formed the UPREIT framework.
3. 2021
   Operations began and Israeli bonds broadened funding beyond U.S. mortgages.
4. 2022
   The public listing and REIT election added equity access and distribution requirements.
5. 2024
   Acquisitions accelerated scale while bank and TASE debt increased complexity.
6. 2025
   Twenty acquisitions cost $112.1 million; facilities rose from 124 to 143 and affiliated rent fell below 50%.
7. 2026
   A $300 million facility added a $100 million term loan and $200 million revolver.

What did this evolution change?

Scale improved tenant diversification and expanded the rent base from $75.3 million in 2019 to $142.7 million at year-end 2025, a 13.4% compound annual growth rate. The financing stack now includes HUD loans, bank debt, Israeli bonds, a note, common shares and OP units. The strategic test is whether capital simplification and lower funding costs produce AFFO growth per diluted unit.

STRW’s advantage is focused acquisition and leasing capability in a fragmented healthcare niche. Management knows regional operators, reimbursement systems and master-lease structures. This can speed diligence and make smaller deals economical.

Which moat elements are most credible?

Who competes with STRW?

Omega, CareTrust, Sabra and LTC Properties compete alongside private capital and regional investors. Larger peers often have cheaper capital and broader portfolios. STRW competes through local knowledge and smaller transactions. A small platform can grow quickly, but funding cost and concentration can erase its edge.

Landlord margins are strong, but leverage is high. At March 31, 2026, STRW had $878.6 million of assets, $36.6 million of unrestricted cash, $33.1 million of restricted cash and $788.0 million of net bonds, notes and senior debt. Net debt equaled about 89.7% of assets, making refinancing and covenants central.

What does the debt mix reveal?

Did the June 2026 refinancing improve flexibility?

Yes, though pro forma leverage awaits a later filing. On June 18, 2026, STRW closed a $300 million corporate credit facility with Popular Bank. It includes a funded $100 million term loan and a $200 million revolver, each priced at the greater of one-month term SOFR plus 2.75% or 5.50%, maturing in June 2029 with two one-year extension options. It can refinance debt and fund acquisitions, improving liquidity.

The Q1 common dividend of $0.16 per share equaled about 47% of Q1 AFFO per share. But large OP-holder distributions make consolidated cash coverage more important than the listed-share payout alone.

STRW has one-vote common stock, but ownership is concentrated through the operating partnership. At March 31, 2026, 13.4 million common shares and 42.4 million OP units were outstanding. The company owned 24.2% of OP units; legacy holders may redeem units for cash or common shares. This aligns founders but requires fully diluted per-share analysis.

How concentrated is beneficial ownership?

These figures come from the 2026 proxy statement and include OP units redeemable for common stock in the broader ownership measure.

What governance safeguards exist?

Four of six directors are independent, as are the key board committees. An investment committee reviews deals, financing, leverage, leases and operator coverage. That matters because affiliates of Gubin and Blisko leased 66 facilities representing 48.5% of year-end rent.

The main opportunity is acquiring smaller nursing properties at attractive yields. Growth depends most on pricing, operator quality and funding spreads.

How does capital allocation support the opportunity?

STRW retained AFFO after Q1 common dividends and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.17. The Q2 2026 dividend announcement signals confidence, but management must balance distributions against leverage and acquisition equity needs. Best execution combines moderate dividend growth, cheaper funding and accretive per-unit acquisitions.

STRW’s risks interact: operator stress weakens coverage, refinancing and acquisition spreads. Triple-net leases shift costs, not tenant credit risk.

Why can dilution matter even when acquisitions grow FFO?

In May 2026, STRW raised about $56 million through Israeli Series C bonds paired with warrants covering up to 2,603,936 common shares. The May 2026 Form 8-K stated an initial exercise price equivalent to $13.69 and a June 30, 2027 expiration. Full exercise could raise about $36 million but materially increase shares. Acquisitions can raise total FFO while reducing FFO per share.

Which warning signals deserve priority?

GAAP net income understates REIT cash economics because real estate depreciation is non-cash. AFFO is a better base, adjusted for recurring capital needs, financing, dilution and tenant credit. Peer multiples must reflect STRW’s smaller scale, related parties and complex capital.

Which KPI set is most decision-useful?

The primary valuation sensitivity is property yield minus marginal capital cost. Tenant restructuring and dilution are next: using only listed shares can overstate per-share value.